PSY 360: Behavioral Neuroscience(formerly Psy 260)

11:30 – 12:45 TTh

McCormack – 1st Flr – Rm 409

Professor: Jane Adams, Ph.D.

Research area: prenatal influences on brain development and behavior; developmental neurotoxicology

Ph.D. – New Mexico State University

Post-docs – National Center for Toxicological Research; MA Mental Health Center and Children’s Hospital Boston

Name:

Major:

Prerequisite biology course or Psy 105:

Email:

If you will not regularly check your University email, please log in and forward it to your primary email.

What do you hope to learn about?

Office Hours:

Tues and Thurs – right after class until 1:45

Office Location: Room 270 - 4th floor of the McCormack building.

Email contact: jane.adams@umb.edu

Phone: 617-287-6346

Resources

Text: Biological Psychology (5th Edition), 2007, by Rosensweig, Breedlove, Watson

Also Assigned Readings

Course Requirements:

• 4 exams – 100 pts each – multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, listing, short answer, essay

Makeups only with medical excuse: all makeups are essay format.

• 1 paper – 50 pts

Papers based on 4-5 articles that I assign.

2 “sets” to choose from: 1st one has re-write option. Dates on syllabus.

Class webpage:

• contains syllabus

• contains lecture notes from Power Point slides

• assigned articles

• instructions for other assignments (papers; extra credit)

• links to other resources, etc

Papers must be written in APA format:

• applies to article citations in text

• applies to format of the reference list

• webpage has a link describing format

Grading system:

450 pts total – need 268 to pass.

268/450 = .5955

A .93-1.00 C+ .78-.79

A- .90-.92 C .72-.77

B+ .88-.89 C- .70-.71 F < .60

B .82-.87 D+ .68-.69

B- .80-.81 D .62-.67

D- .60-.61

Extra Credit Option:

• may earn up to 6 extra pts (no more) by completing individual assignments valued at up to 3 pts (quality determines pts earned)

• explanatory paragraphs related to class content

• may help you on the essay questions or other exam content

• can increase your grade at end by “1 step”

Also, attendance will be checked on 3 random occasions. Those present earn 1 point.

DATE CONTENT READINGS

T – 9/4 Introduction to Course Ch. 1

Th – 9/6 Approaches to studying the brain Ch. 1

T – 9/11 The Nervous System (add/drop ends) Ch. 2

Th – 9/13 Continued Ch. 2; article on Glial cells

T – 9/18 Communication in the Nervous System Ch. 3

Th- 9/20 Neurotransmitters: related drugs and diseases Ch. 4

T – 9/25 EXAM I Ch. 1-4; article Ch. 1-4; article

Th – 9/27 Evolution of brain and behavior Chapter 6

T – 10/2 Continued Ch. 6

Th – 10/4 Developmental organization of brain and behavior

Ch. 7

T – 10/9 Continued Ch. 7

Th – 10/11 Adverse influences on brain development Ch. 7; article on nicotine

T – 10/16 Hormones and behavior Ch. 5

Th – 10/18 Develop. of reproductive anatomy and function

Ch. 12

T – 10/23 continued Chapter 12

Th 10/25 EXAM II Ch. 6, 7, 5, 12; article Ch. 6, 7, 5, 12; article

DATE CONTENT READINGS

T – 10/30 Regulation of hunger and thirst Ch. 13

Th – 11/1 Regulation of rhythms and sleep (RAB meeting)

Ch. 14; article on effects of sleep on cognition and performance

T – 11/6 Neurobiology of Emotion Ch. 15

Th – 11/8 Neurobiology of stress and anxiety Ch. 15 Paper 1 due: Steroid Use, Emotion, and Behavior

T – 11/13 Neurobiology of depression Ch. 16

Th – 11/15 Neurobiology of schizophrenia Ch. 16

T – 11/20 EXAM III Ch. 13, 14, 15, 16; article Ch. 13-16; article on sleep

Th – 11/22 Thanksgiving holiday

T – 11/27 Learning and memory Ch. 17

Th – 11/29 Learning and memory cont Ch. 17

T – 12/4 Neural mechanisms Ch. 18 Paper 2 due: Brain- Use it or Lose It

Th – 12/6 Hemispheric differences in cognition Ch. 19 article on Split Brain

T – 12/11 Language and Cognition Chapter 19

Th – 12/13 Neurobiology of Aging and Degenerative Disease

T – 12/18 EXAM IV Ch. 17, 18, 19; articleRequesting 12/16

Ch. 17-19; article on Split Brain

Disability Services:Through the Lillian Semper Ross Center for Disability Services various aids such as sign language interpreting, readers, testing accommodations, counseling, etc. are available to qualified students.

For more info., contact the Ross Center on the second floor of the Campus Center (287-7430) as soon as possible.

Academic Integrity:Academic Dishonesty includes cheating in any form on an exam or any assignment. Ex: plagiarizing a paper (copying from any source without quotes and referencing is plagiarizing), paraphrasing other student’s work, copying during an exam, etc.

A grade of 0 will be given for the exam or assignment.

Bathroom breaks during exams are chaperoned - sorry.

Policy for Incomplete Grade Assignment

• student must have completed at least 50% of course requirements

• student must have earned a passing grade on completed work

• student must sign a contract indicating how and when incomplete work will be completed

• contract must be signed by student, me, and department chair

In your lifetime you may expect:

• treatments that facilitate growth of new brain tissue or bodily nerves

• real treatments for neurological diseases and injuries that replace dysfunctional tissue with healthy tissues

• immunotherapies that prevent addiction

• gene insertion/deletion therapies that change your own genetics

How do behavioral neuroscientists study the relationships between the structures of the nervous system and the behaviors they mediate?• somatic intervention - alter neuroanatomy or neurophysiology and measure the change in behavior

- insert a gene and see if the animal gets “smarter” – the Doogie Mouse)

- give a drug and observe changes in behavior • behavioral intervention - alter behavior and then measure changes in neuroanatomy or neurophysiology via imaging or tissue analysis

- train on a new task and watch how brain changes- require exercise and look at brain changes

• correlation - relate existing physical characteristics to behavioral characteristics (neuroanatomy; genetics; neurochemistry)

- in individuals with Parkinson’s Disease, look at history of exposure to pesticides

5 Viewpoints that Aid Understanding in Behavioral Neuroscience

• Use of behavioral descriptions (pianists and motor control areas)

• Use of biological descriptions (smaller brain area ~ altered ability)

• Use of evolutionary explanations -continuity of biology and behavior across species; adaptive differentiations across species – (adaptive value; Fat)

• Use of understanding of developmental changes in nervous system and behavior (developmental vulnerability to insult – fetus but not mom)

• Use of knowledge applied to improving the health and well-being of humans and other animals